Merry Hell – Over Hulton Folk Club: Live Review

By Howard King on 25th February 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

Over Hulton Folk Club welcome back perennial visitors and local favourites Merry Hell for another evening of joyful contemporary music.

They say familiarity breeds contempt but that is definitely not the case with Merry Hell. Their particular brand of folk music is as popular and as fresh as ever. They soon overcame any rustiness of not playing live for a while and handled any shortcomings of forgotten words, missed verses with their endearing humour, openness and lively in-band banter. It is, after all, live music.

FAVOURITES AND NEW

Throughout the evening they gave us all our favourites as well as a smattering of new numbers which will be released on their eagerly anticipated new album due in May. Virginia hinted at a new direction in their music and I think I detected some slight re-workings in the arrangement of their more familiar songs all adding to their customary uplifting performance.

It wasn’t long before the audience were clapping along and our host Corrie leading the dancing. well it wouldn’t be a MH concert at OHFC without that!!

The long standing members of Fairport Convention always claim ‘we are not a folk group’ and the setlist served up by Merry Hell tonight included a plethora of songs which are just decent well constructed songs that would embellish a wider platform than folk music. Only Love, Rising Of The Bold, Changing Times, Violet and even Bury Me Naked and Ghost In Our House are all excellent songs which would go down well in any musical environment.

LOCAL ROOTS

Merry Hell clearly have their roots in the locality and continue to show their concerns in national and global issues overcoming diversity, social equality and environmental concerns, all delivered without being jingoistic and still remaining positive about our national heritage and values.

Their popularity is also spreading beyond these shores too with Peace Can Be Louder Than War hitting the US folk charts. A magnificent achievement Andrew is particularly proud of.

TIGHTLY KNIT

Merry Hell are clearly a tightly bound unit personally in their social philosophy but also musically. John , huddled over his guitar leads the closely bound rhythms and the melodic tunes delivered by the band . On bass Colin Foster never misses a note or beat. Lee Goulding on keyboards adds atmosphere and depth to each tune and Simon Swarbrick’s sometimes wailing, hypnotic violin fills are pure joy.

They continue to glean the songwriting talents within the band whether its Bob’s cheerful new Changing Is Just The Same, Virginia ‘ploughing her own furrow’ with Loving The Skin You’re In or the folk rocky Changing Times, their songs never bring ‘tears in our ears’.

MH can be skiffly, proggy, rocky, melancholic and of course rousing led by the vocal and verbal fronting of Andrew and Viriginia who can be individually exude passionate vocals when singing unaccompanied and harmonically secure.

Images shamelessly lifted from the MH Facebook – apologies and thanks to Damian…

The ever receptive packed out room gladly welcomed the bouncy jig of Baker’s Daughter which they hope will be forever stone walled into any MH evening before the customary conclusion with One More Day Without You and Let the Music Speak For Itself, which it always does!

If Dylan met with some resistance to change, I’m sure the MH faithful will welcome any new direction. There will definitely not be any cries of ‘Judas’ from this quarter.